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Yamhill County emergency management highlights free advanced active-shooter training and new evacuation tools
Summary
County emergency management reported a multiagency active-shooter exercise delivered at no cost, plans for hazard mitigation updates, a new evacuation-mapping tool and uncertainty about federal EMPG funding.
Brian Young, emergency management staff, briefed the Board of Commissioners on July 24 about an advanced active-shooter incident management training brought to Yamhill County by C3 Pathways and partners. Young said the three-day training included 11 progressively complex scenarios involving roughly 30 law enforcement officers, 20 EMS personnel, dispatchers, public information officers and a helicopter pilot.
Young said the training would have cost about $62,000 if the county had paid for it; the county obtained it at no cost through an application process and the contractor’s scheduling availability. He described scenario work on incident command post operations, tactical triage and transportation, staging and area command, and stressed the exercise’s emphasis on integrated, cross-discipline communication and “stop the bleed” medical interventions.
Young credited local partners and agencies that participated, naming Dayton Fire, McMinnville Fire, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Sheridan Fire, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Fire, McMinnville Police Department, Newberg-Dundee Police Department, Yamhill Police Department, Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan (Bureau of Prisons), Yamhill Communications and a local helicopter operator, Jerry Trimble Helicopters. He said participation helped “break down silos” and improve coordination among disciplines that use different radio systems and procedures.
On planning and mitigation, Young said the county’s FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is due for update and the current plan expires in December. The county’s vendor, the University of Oregon, has submitted materials to Oregon Emergency Management and Young reported optimism about a timely review; he said an extension process exists if federal review exceeds the expiration date.
Young also described a new evacuation-mapping effort using software contracted by the state (Genesys), which will allow the county to craft evacuation polygons, integrate GIS layers and publish zones to the county’s alert system (Yamhill County Alerts/Everbridge). He said a stakeholder meeting is planned for Aug. 7 and the team hopes to publish initial zones by Aug. 12, while noting that published zones are a baseline that will be refined.
Young addressed grants and funding: he said the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) historically provided roughly $88,000 to offset salaries but that federal grant timing is uncertain; he is pursuing state homeland security grant avenues and local grant coordination to underwrite training costs and backfill staffing when needed.
Commissioners praised the training and encouraged exploring regular offerings. Young said he hopes to repeat the training and pursue grant funding to support backfill and sustained delivery. He recommended continued tabletop exercises with schools and hospitals to extend planning to partners not covered in the three-day course.
